Hurricane Irene risk forces first-ever NYC shutdown

By Martha T. Moore and Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY

NEW YORK
–
The city's transit system began shutting down Saturday ahead of Hurricane Irene, the first shutdown brought on by a natural disaster.

By Spencer Platt, Getty Images

A woman loads up on water while supplies last at a grocery store in the Rockaways area of Queens, N.Y., as Hurricane Irene nears. The Rockaways are under mandatory evacuation orders for tomorrow afternoon.

A woman loads up on water while supplies last at a grocery store in the Rockaways area of Queens, N.Y., as Hurricane Irene nears. The Rockaways are under mandatory evacuation orders for tomorrow afternoon.

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Final scheduled runs on all subway and bus lines started at noon, and it would take about eight hours before the system would be shuttered, city officials said. The systems can't operate in sustained winds higher than 39 mph and shutting down is a precaution, the transit authority said.

Arriving flights at the five main New York City-area airports also were halting Saturday as Irene began spinning its way up the Eastern Seaboard, forcing more than 300,000 evacuations and dimming lights at Citi Field and on Broadway.

Residents braced for harsh winds, drenching rains and travel woes as Hurricane Irene barreled closer to the city. The storm slammed into North Carolina at Cape Lookout in the Outer Banks Saturday monring.

As rain started falling on him at Coney Island, Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged residents who needed to leave to get out - right away.

"Staying behind is dangerous, staying behind is foolish, and it's against the law, and we urge everyone in the evacuation zones not to wait until gale-force winds," he said at a news conference from Coney Island. "The time to leave is right now."

More than 300,000 residents have been ordered to leave waterfront neighborhoods and the city was poised to shut down its vast transit system, two unprecedented precautionary steps forced by the size and energy of Irene.

The brunt of the storm is forecast to arrive Sunday.

Many New Yorkers appeared to have heeded the warnings about the approaching storm. Bridges and streets were nearly empty, with few people walking or driving.

With the shutdown deadline looming, most cars on a train on the No. 1 subway line that runs the length of Manhattan's West Side were empty already in the early morning.

On Wall Street, sandbags were placed around subway grates nearest the East River, which is expected to surge as the hurricane nears New York.

Aviation officials said they would close the five main New York City-area airports to arriving domestic and international flights beginning at noon on Saturday. Many departures also were canceled.

"You only have to look at the weather maps to understand just how big this storm is, and how unique it is. And it's heading basically directly for us," Bloomberg said at a news briefing Friday . "This is very serious. Do not be fooled by the sun outside. You just can't wait until gale force winds and driving winds begin."

Irene will likely be a Category 1 hurricane when it reaches the city but it will bring high winds and 8 to 12 inches of rain, Bloomberg said.

"We've never done a mandatory evacuation before now and we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't think this storm is going to be serious," he said.

The city opened nearly 100 shelters with a capacity of 71,000 people.

Nursing homes and five hospitals in low-lying areas of the city began evacuating Friday. Residents of coastal areas including Brooklyn's Coney Island and Rockaway Peninsula and the Battery Park City neighborhood in Manhattan must leave for higher ground by 5 p.m. Saturday, Bloomberg said.

"We don't have the manpower to go door-to-door and drag people out," Bloomberg said. But, he added, ignoring the evacuation order means "people might die."

As officials continued with dire warnings, the city's activity began to grind to a halt .

New York City restaurants readied for weekend closures. Danny Meyer, whose Union Square Hospitality Group runs Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Maialino and other highly-rated eateries, announced that all of his locations would be closed Saturday and Sunday "with the safety and well-being of our team and guests in mind."

Street fairs and outdoor festivals scheduled for Sunday have been canceled as the city yanked permits. City beaches have been closed. The Bronx Zoo announced it will close.

The hurricane even interfered with Broadway: All weekend shows were cancelled.

The New York Mets' Saturday and Sunday games with the Atlanta Braves have been postponed. All city construction, including work to rebuild the World Trade Center site, was suspended from Saturday until 7 a.m. Monday.

The storm seems to have gained New Yorkers' attention: traffic on the city's website, www.nyc.gov, where evacuation information is posted, spiked to 4.3 million visitors Thursday, temporarily crashing it. The previous high had been 2.2 .

The city's subway and bus systems will begin shutting down at noon , as will suburban rail systems that serve Long Island and the northern suburbs, said Jay Walder, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Shutting down the sprawling system and moving equipment to safe territory is expected to take eight hours. Bus and subway service halted during a 2005 transit strike, but the entire system has never been halted before.

"I cannot stress enough, please do not wait for the last train," Walder said.

The hurricane's anticipated size and strength is expected to make a speedy restart of the mass transit system challenging, Walder said.

Falling trees and limbs could block tracks on the sprawling system, and the system's 13 under-river tunnels could flood, he warned.

"I don't think there's any question that the period after the storm is going to be difficult," he said.

City officials did not issue any immediate restrictions on car travel. Taxi service will continue to operate unless hurricane conditions make it too dangerous to drive.

The city "will take a hard look" at closing municipal-operated bridges if sustained hurricane wind speeds reach 50 mph, Bloomberg said. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, operators of the city's major bridges and tunnels, will make independent decisions on whether to close any of those facilities, he said.

If winds reach 50 mph, ferry service to Staten Island will be suspended, Walder said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called out the National Guard, sending more than 900 soldiers and 100 vehicles will head to the Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island on Saturday in response to the storm.

"Stay inside on Sunday. It's a good time to catch up or sleep late," he said.

"We can joke about this on Monday morning, but until then it's a matter of life and death."

Still, some skeptical New Yorkers scoffed at the warnings, vowing to stay put.

Many people scoffed at the danger and vowed to ride it out at home.

"How can I get out of Coney Island? What am I going to do? Run with this walker?" said Abe Feinstein, 82, who has lived since the early 1960s on the eighth floor of a building that overlooks the famed Coney Island boardwalk.

"I think I have nothing to worry about," he said. "I've been through bad weather before. It's just not going to be a problem for us."

Contributing: Associated Press

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